Italy took its first individual medals of the 2025 UCI Cyclocross World Championships in Liévin, France in Sunday’s chilly first race, the Junior men’s contest. Italy’s Mattia Agostinacchio caught and dropped Frenchman Soren Bruyere Joumard on the frozen final lap to triumph with a broken shoe. Last year Italy won through Stefano Viezzi. Canada’s Emilien Belzile placed 11th.
The Canadian crew consisted of Emilien Belzile, Tristan Taillefer, Sagan Goertz, Monty Rigby and Farland Lamont, five of 68 riders.
Among the favourites were Junior World Cup winner Bruyere Joumard, Agostinacchio and Belgian Giel Lejeune.
Austrian Valentin Hofer impressed by grabbing the hole shot on Lap 1. Canada’s Sagan Goertz was one of several chaps who got caught up in a crash on the starting straight. Belzile was the best-placed Canuck in the first kilometre. Hofer crashed when he had a seven-second advantage and Agostinacchio assumed the lead. Brit Oscar Amey, Lejeune and Bruyere Joumard were hard on his heels. Belzile was 18th at the line.
Agostinacchio and Amey surged ahead on Lap 2, Bruyere Joumard, Lejeune and Spaniard Benjamin Noval Suarez hard on the chase. The two leaders both fell on the stairs, letting Frenchman “BJ” catch up before the line. Belzile was up to 14th.
Agostinacchio opened up a little gap on the third of six laps, but the chaos meant that Noval Suarez caught up and took over the lead. The Spaniard had a seven-second lead at the midway point of the race over Agostinacchio and BJ. Belzile was up to 12th.
It was difficult for anyone to keep the lead, and a mistake from Noval Suarez saw the Frenchman catch him on Lap 4, the Frenchman breathing down their necks. Noval Suarez slid out soon after BJ made the junction, and then Agostinacchio had problems on the off-camber section. Bruyere Joumard had seven seconds going into the penultimate lap. Belzile broke into the top-10.
On the penultimate lap, the French leader kept clear of Italian pair Agostinacchio and Filippo Grigolini, Noval Suarez and Lejeune. Belzile kept his top 10.
Impressively, Agostinacchio made the junction at the start of the bell lap, Grigolini now 20 seconds in arrears of the pair. The Italian…
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